How to Write a Book Report?

You have to write a book review, and you don’t know what should you write about? No worries, we will guide you through this challenging task.

Book review writing tips

Get to know the book you are reviewing. Read a summary of the book which is written on the jacket. Figure out the genre: fiction, nonfiction, romance, poetry, sci-fi, etc.

Find information about the author and the epoch the book was written. Define his/her writing style. What kind of language and sentence structure the author uses? Does he/she write long complicated sentences, or use some unique features?

Read the introduction. It may tell you a lot about the goals and ideas of the book, as well as some details of the author’s background.

While reading the book, don’t forget to take notes. It will help you to keep in mind all the feelings and thoughts you’ve had as you read it. Sometimes, the reader does not like the book from the beginning but later his/her opinion changes to the opposite. Taking notes will let you define the moment the change in emotions happened.

List the characters and make small notes about the way they affect the story.

Pick out the main focus of the book. Your main task is to define whether the author’s idea is groundbreaking. Express your thoughts about it: do you agree with the author? Why or why not?

List of themes you have noticed. Those are messages and concepts the author presents.

Define the author’s argument and determine the ways it is illustrated and supported.

Write down some important quotes. It may be a part of a dialogue or a certain scene that supports the author’s argument or shows the uniqueness of the author’s style.